Business idea- Exploring bovine functional genomics – transferring knowledge to human biology and medicine

The business idea is based upon the uniqueness of the material in the biobank, the structure of the data, and the principle of coupling phenotypic and genotypic information in targeting functional genes.

The uniqueness of the material is first of all the extensive health and trait recordings from mid 1970-ies; the structure of the breeding programs with large daughter groups allowing research on low heritability traits like fertility and health, and the large collection of biological samples (DNA).

The idea is to explore and develop the relationship between bovine genetic markers and phenotypic records. This is now possible due to the development in bioinformatics and molecular genetic markers, and the sequencing of the bovine genome (www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep02/bovine0902.htm, www.genomecanada.ca). Using the vast amount of data and biological samples, BoviBank will develop knowledge and products for the future. Detailed molecular information about genes regulating economically important traits can be applied for breeding purposes, or as basis for developing new compounds and regimes aimed at preventing, diagnosing or treating diseases in cattle and humans.

Vision: Understanding genetics for the future